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The MadAveGroup Blog

This post is the second in a series of articles that features my responses to questions put to members of the Forbes Agency Council. The theme again is brand.

Question: What is one thing brands should know when planning this year’s holiday campaigns?

Answer: Along with the benefits of your product, let your audience know what's convenient about ordering it, returning it, assembling it, even paying for it. Your holiday campaign will have to compete with a lot of other messages, and it'll run during a hectic time of year. Make purchasing your product more attractive to busy, distracted consumers by showcasing your quick and easy buying process.

Question: With so much noise in the marketing space, brand loyalty is paramount. What’s one way companies can increase brand loyalty?

Answer: You could be adding to the marketing noise if you're trying to be everything to everybody. By giving your audience too much to think about, you may be confusing them and preventing them from retaining a strong image of your brand. Determine what your core value is to consumers and find more ways to reinforce that specific value, rather than always introducing new topics into the conversation.

Question: If a company is considering a rebrand, what is one of the most important questions its executives should ask themselves before rebranding?

Answer: Will a re-brand endanger the brand equity you've built up over the years? If the changes you make are drastic, will your current customers embrace them? If not, then what? Is the potential lure of new customers strong enough to risk alienating or confusing your current base? Is it possible that polishing up your current brand elements would give you the best of old and new?

At least for the time being, small talk is not limited to the topic of the weather.

Nope. The buzz these days is all about the London Olympics: Michael Phelps, Gabby Douglas, medal counts, and all the backstories that precede the drama of the competition.

How does this fortnight featuring - let’s face it - relatively unpopular sporting events create such interest? One reason is that, like the weather, the Olympics are something we all share.

Even with hundreds of cable channels available these days, the games are one of the few remaining televised events that a large percentage of the country watches “together.” Even though many of us are viewing them differently than we did as kids - online - the Olympic Games are still a shared experience that brings people together and focuses our national attention.

It’s no wonder marketers fill commercial breaks with Olympic-themed spots. They want to align their brand with all the positive aspects of this shared moment in time, and use it to build stronger emotional bonds with their audience.

In what other ways could you tie your brand to a shared experience, a community of people, or even a specific, goal-oriented effort, such as a local charity? Perhaps it’s something as obvious as sponsoring a local sports team. Or maybe you go grassroots, supporting urban gardens or job training programs as your customers adjust to a new economic reality.

It’s our shared interests and efforts that brought us together as a nation in the first place, and you can still use the concept of commonality to attract people today.

If you would like more details on a specific product, project or service, please contact us!

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